Orientadores: Ivan Felizardo Contrera Toro, Alfio Jose Tincani / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciencias Medicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-06T13:36:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Lima_AlexandreGarciade_M.pdf: 2087183 bytes, checksum: 6fd6e6333b62539a3a77fcbbb6cd91a8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Resumo: O Atendimento Médico Pré-hospitalar tem ganho atenção e estímulo no Brasil nos últimos anos, e com o crescimento desta nova área de atuação médica, surgiram novos problemas a serem resolvidos. Um desses problemas é a drenagem pleural tubular fechada, pois o mecanismo de fluxo unidirecional mais comumente usado, o selo de água, é inseguro e pouco prático para o atendimento pré-hospitalar. Objetivos: Testar a eficiência e a segurança do DVU - Dispositivo de Válvula Unidirecional, para a substituição do selo de água na drenagem pleural tubular fechada em ambiente pré-hospitalar, através de parâmetros clínicos. Material e método: Foram utilizados 22 DVU em 21 doentes no período de tempo compreendido entre maio de 2002 e maio de 2004. Todos doentes foram atendidos pelo autor e por ele submetidos à colocação do DVU, vítimas de traumatismo torácico, penetrante ou fechado, ou com pneumotórax espontâneo com repercussão clínica. Resultados: Dezesseis (72,7%) ferimentos penetrantes da caixa torácica, três (13,6%) ferimentos torácicos fechados e três (13,6%) pneumotórax espontâneos foram incluidos no estudo. Houve melhora dos parâmetros aferidos como pressão arterial, freqüências cardíaca e respiratória e da propedêutica pleuro-pulmonar (ausculta e percussão torácicas); o débito de líquidos através da válvula foi em média de 700 ± 87,4 ml (variando de zero a 1500 ml). Houve duas falhas mecânicas, sendo em um caso possível a substituição do mecanismo defeituoso por outro funcionante e em outro caso a substituição do DVU pelo selo de água. Discussão: A drenagem pleural no ambiente pré-hospitalar é fator de discussão quanto às indicações, técnicas e dispositivos de fluxo unidirecional. A literatura internacional tem dado grande importância à drenagem pré-hospitalar, como fator de estabilização de doentes instáveis, além de outras medidas de suporte, com melhora da sobrevida, diminuição de morbidade e de tempo de internação. A divulgação de dispositivos de substituição do selo de água no Brasil faz-se necessária, devido à baixa disponibilidade de similares no mercado nacional. Conclusão: concluiu-se que o DVU é útil, seguro e bem aceito pelas equipes de atendimento hospitalar e pré-hospitalar, além de ser uma alternativa nacional, menos dispendiosa e mais acessível dos que os similares importados / Abstract: Prehospital medical service in Brazil has been attracting attention in the past years. With the expansion of this new field of medical service new problems have arisen to be solved. One of these problems is the closed pleural drainage. This is because the unidirectional flux mechanism commonly used, the underwater seal, is unsafe and not user friendly in the prehospital set. Objectives: test the efficiency and safety of the DVU (unidirectional valve) to replace the water seal for closed pleural drainage in the prehospital environment, through clinical parameters. Material and method: 22 DVU were used in 21 patients from may 2002 and may 2004. All patients were attended by the author who undertake the pleural drainage with the valve, victims of thoracic traumatism, closed or penetrating, or with spontaneous pneumothorax with clinical repercussion. Results: Sixteen (72,7%) penetrating injuries of the chest, three (13,6%) closed thoracic injuries and three (13,6%) spontaneous pneumothorax were included in this study. An improvement in the observed parameters was registered, such as arterial blood pressure, cardiac and respiratory frequency, as well as the pulmonary propedeutics (auscultation and thoracic percussion); the liquid outflow of the valve was 700 ± 87,4 ml (ranging from zero to 1500 ml). Two mechanical failures were registered one of which the drainage system was replaced by a new one and the other the DVU was replaced by a underwater seal. Discussion: The prehospital pleural drainage is a matter of debate in regard to indications, techniques and unidirectional flux systems. The international literature given great importance to the prehospital drainage, as a factor of stabilizing patients, besides other support measures, increasing overall survival, decreasing morbidity and hospital stay. The divulgation of means that replace the underwater seal in Brazil is of extreme importance, due to the low availability of similar systems in the national market. Conclusions: It was concluded that the DVU is useful, safe and well accepted by the prehospital set, in addition, it is a national alternative, less costly and more accessible that its international similar systems / Mestrado / Cirurgia / Mestre em Cirurgia

A Drenagem Linfática Manual (DLM) tem como principal objetivo remover o excesso de proteína plasmática do interstício celular, restaurando o equilíbrio entre a carga proteica linfática e a capacidade de transporte do sistema linfático. Para isso, são utilizados movimentos de captação e demanda, seguindo o trajeto de escoamento da linfa, devendo estes ser lentos e de suave pressão. Assim, a DLM é indicada no tratamento de fibro edema gelóide, linfedemas de causa primária e edemas locais ocasionados por procedimentos cirúrgicos, como cirurgias plásticas, oncológicas, e bucomaxilofaciais. Objetivo: avaliar os efeitos da DLM sobre o edema e a dor de pacientes submetidos à cirurgia ortognática. Método: 30 pacientes foram divididos em dois grupos (grupo tratamento e grupo controle). Todos os indivíduos foram submetidos à cirurgia ortognática bimaxilar. Um dos grupos recebeu a DLM (Grupo Tratamento) a partir do segundo dia de pós operatório (2ºPO), além de crioterapia e medicações pós-operatórias enquanto o grupo controle recebeu apenas o tratamento crioterápico e medicamentoso. Para avaliação do edema foram utilizadas medidas faciais com fita métrica e fotos. Os pacientes também responderam a uma escala visual analógica (EVA) referindo o edema percebido no rosto. Para avaliação da dor, também aplicada a Escala Visual Analógica. Resultados: Todos os resultados foram inseridos em uma planilha do Excel e submetidos a análise estatística pelo software Sigma Plot 2.0. Não se encontrou diferença entre os grupos quanto à quantidade de edema desenvolvido considerando os valores de edema máximo (p 0,290) e nem em que dia o pico de edema ocorreu (p 0,091). Entretanto, verificou-se que o grupo tratamento teve regressão do inchaço mais rápida que o grupo controle (p < 0,001). Quanto a dor, não encontrou-se que o comportamento desta está relacionado ao do edema e nem que a DLM interfere na percepção de dor dos pacientes submetidos a essa terapia (p 0,784). Além disso, a DLM não interfere no dia de percepção do pico da dor (p 0,877). A DLM também não interfere na percepção de edema do paciente numa comparação entre os grupos (p 0,946). Na análise das fotos, não se encontrou diferença significativa entre os grupos nem quanto ao dia de pico de edema percebido pelos avaliadores e nem quanto à avaliação do comportamento do edema facial. Conclusão: a DLM se mostrou eficaz na redução das medidas faciais no pós operatório de cirurgia ortognática. Entretanto, não se verificou eficácia para auxílio na redução da dor e nem da percepção de edema. / The main objective of Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) is to remove the excess of plasma protein from the celular interstice, restoring the balance between lymphatic protein load and the capacity to transport it. For this, light and slow movements of captation and demand are used, following the lymph path flow. Thus, the MLD is well indicated in cellulitis treatment, primary lymphoedema and local edemas caused by surgical procedures, such as plastic surgeries, oncological surgeries and maxillofacial surgeries. Objective: Evaluate the effects of MLD on facial swelling and pain in patients that underwent orthognathic surgery. Method: thirty patients were divided in two groups (treatment group and control group). All subjects underwent orthognathic surgery for maxilla and mandible. Treatment group recieved MLD from 2nd postoperative day on, once a day, for five days, besides crioterapy and postoperative medicatication. Control group recieved only criotherapy and postoperative medication. To evaluate the edema, facial mesures with a tape-mesure and photos were used. To evaluate pain and edema through the patients perception, they answered the Visual Analogic Scale (VAS) for pain and edema to quantify them. Results: All the results were inserted in Excel spreadsheet and submitted to statistical analysis through Sigma Plot 2.0 software. There was no difference between the two groups about the edema amount considering maximum edema (p 0,290) and neither about which day the edema peak occurred (p 0,091). However, we could verify that the treatment group had faster swelling regression compared to control group (p < 0,001). About pain, there were no findings that relates it with edema and neither that MLD reduces pain perception (p 0,784). Besides that, MLD does not interfere in pain perception in the peak day (p 0,877). MLD also does not interfere in patients perception for edema, comparing both groups (p 0,946). In photography analysis, it wasnt found significant difference between groups neither about the edemas peak for evaluators perception and nor the facial swellings beahaviour. Conclusion: MLD showed to be effective in reducing facial measures in othognathics postoperatory. However, it wasnt observed efficiency in pain reduction and neither edemas perception.

Extensive drainage of UK peatlands has been associated with dehydration of the peat, an increase in water colour and a loss of carbon storage. Water colour has been found to be proportional to the concentration of fluvial dissolved organic carbon (DOC) (McKnight et al. 1985). It has been considered that the blocking of drainage channels represents a means of peat restoration and a way of reducing DOC losses to surface waters. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of drain blocking at both an individual drain scale and at a larger catchment scale (up to 1km2). The effect of external parameters become more pronounced as the DOC record is examined at larger scales. The catchment is an open system and water chemistry will be influenced by mixing with water from other sources. Also it is likely that at some point the drains will cut across slope leading to the flow of any highly coloured water down slope, bypassing the blockages, and entering the surface waters downstream. Degradation of DOC will occur naturally downstream due to the effects of light and microbial activity. There is, consequently, a need to examine the wider effects of drain blocking at a catchment scale to ensure that what is observed for one drain transfers to the whole catchment. A series of blocked and unblocked catchments were studied in Upper Teesdale, Northern England. A detailed sampling programme of stream water, soil water and run off was undertaken in which a series of drains were studied in the 12 months prior to and post blocking. Water table depth, flow and weather parameters were also monitored. This study could not find a significant decline in DOC concentration at zero or first order scale post blocking; however a small yet significant decline of 2.5% in DOC concentration relative to the control catchment was recorded at the first order scale. A decrease in DOC concentration is recorded as water flows from the zero to the first order in the same catchment. The study found that the effects of DOC degradation in the catchments were very small and that DOC degradation could not solely explain the decrease in DOC concentration seen from zero to first order drains indicating the importance of dilution effects in the catchments. The blocking of peat drains does significantly decrease the export of DOC which is largely achieved by decreasing water yield. The size of the DOC export reduction caused by drain blocking is seen to decrease as scale increases providing evidence for the existence of bypass flow around the zero order drain blockages. Blocking was found to have little impact on the level of the catchment water table. This can be explained by the peat bog being naturally very wet before intervention such that when blocking did occur the soil had little capacity to take in additional water. Water yield, however, is seen to decrease post blocking indicating that water and potentially DOC is being lost from the system. Principle component analysis and event analysis were performed on the hydrological and chemical data in order to trace and define this missing component of the water balance yet the analysis found that the water chemistry in the study catchment can be defined by a relatively simple mixing trend. As such this missing water remains undefined. The presence of bypass flow and water mixing will reduce the efficiency of any drain blocking and have wider implications for upland management and its practitioners.

Abstract The expression intensities of cytokeratins and tight junction proteins were determined on re-epithelization. Experimental blister wound healing was studied in patients with diabetes mellitus and in patients with obstructive jaundice. Suction blisters were induced on healthy volunteers, and the healing blisters were biopsied at different time points. Cytokeratin expression and the tight junction proteins ZO-1 and occludin were studied immunohistochemically. Blisters were induced on 17 patients with diabetes and 11 control subjects, and the healing process was followed indirectly by measuring water evaporation and blood flow in the wounds. Microvascular reactivity in the diabetic patients was also studied by using non-immunologic contact irritants. Wound healing, skin collagen synthesis and serum levels of procollagen propeptides were studied in 24 patients with obstructive jaundice caused by neoplastic pancreaticobiliary obstruction and in 17 control patients with the corresponding condition without jaundice. Cytokeratin expression was altered in healing epidermis. In the suprabasal layer, K10 was replaced by K14 and, most likely, by K16. K18 keratin, which is not present in normal epidermis, was found in the basal and suprabasal layers. Thus, there was a shift towards lower molecular weight cytokeratins, which is a reflection of immaturity, and probably towards motility. The tight junction proteins ZO-1 and occludin were expressed in the migrating epidermal sheet, where they apparently form an early barrier. Enhanced expression was seen in the hyperproliferative zone of the wound edge. The diabetic patients showed slower restoration of the epidermal barrier and a weaker initial inflammatory response. Obstructive jaundice and its resolution had no effect on healing. Skin collagen synthesis was decreased in jaundiced patients, and it increased slightly after drainage. Serum type III collagen propeptide levels were elevated in patients with biliary obstruction and dropped after drainage. The elevated levels may be related to the increased synthesis due to fibrosis. As a conclusion, diabetes mellitus impairs epidermal wound healing, while obstructive jaundice does not.

Acute appendicitis is a common cause of abdominal surgery in children, and is the result of appendiceal luminal obstruction and subsequent inflammation. The clinical presentation is often variable, allowing imaging to play a central role in disease identification and characterization. Ultrasound is often the modality of choice for diagnosis of appendicitis in children. Ready availability and lack of ionizing radiation are attractive features of sonography, though operator dependence is a potential barrier. Computed tomography (CT) was historically the preferred modality in children, as in adults, but recent awareness of the risks of radiation has reduced its usage. The purpose of this article is to detail the imaging findings of appendicitis in children. The discussion will focus on typical signs of appendicitis seen on ultrasound, CT, and magnetic resonance imaging. Considerations for percutaneous drainage by interventional radiology will also be presented. Finally, the evolution of imaging algorithms for appendicitis will be discussed.

The research reported here investigated the use of a Baffle Reactor in order to study aspects of the biological sulfur cycle, where a floating sulfur biofilm formation occurs and where complex organic compounds provide electron donor sources. The development of a laboratory-scale Baffle Reactor model system satisfied the requirements for sulfate reducing bacterial biomass growth and sulfur biofilm formation. Since relatively little is known about the microbial ecology of floating sulfur biofilm systems, this study was undertaken to describe the sulfate reducing sludge population of the system together with its performance. A combination of culture- and molecular-based techniques were applied in this study in order to investigate the microbial ecology of the sulfate-reducing bacteria component of the system. These techniques enabled the identification and the analysis of the distribution of different sulfate reducing bacterial strains found within the sludge bioreactors. Strains isolated from the sludge were characterised based on culture appearance, gram staining and scanning electron microscopy morphology. Molecular methods based on the PCR-amplified 16S rRNA including denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis were employed in order to characterise sulfate-reducing bacteria within the reactors. Three novel Gram negative sulfate-reducing bacteria strains were isolated from the sludge population. Strains isolated were tentatively named Desulfomonas rhodensis, Desulfomonas makanaiensis, and Clostridium sulforhodensis. Results obtained from the Baffle Reactor showed that three dominant species were isolated from the DNA extracted from the whole bacterial population by peR. Three of these were similar to those mentioned above. The presence of these three novel unidentified species suggest that there are a range of other novel organisms involved in sulfate reduction processes.

The development of coal biotechnology, using hard coal as a substrate, has been impeded by its low reactivity in biological processes. As a result, the more successful application studies have focused on lignitic soft coals. However, new studies have reported using biologically or geologically oxidized hard coal as a functional substrate option for bioprocess applications on a large scale. This study undertook a preliminary investigation into the feasibility of environmental applications of coal biotechnology using oxidized hard coal substrates in both anaerobic and aerobic processes with carbon dioxide, sulfate and oxygen as terminal electron acceptors. A preliminary characterization of the oxidized hard coal substrates was undertaken to determine and predict their viability and behavior as electron donors and carbon sources for environmental bioprocess applications of direct interest to the coal mining industry. Both biologically and geologically oxidized coal substrates showed loss of up to 17% and 52% carbon respectively and incorporation of oxygen ranging from 0.9 – 24%. The latter substrate showed greater loss of carbon and increased oxygenation. The biologically and geologically oxidized hard coal substrates were shown to partition readily into 23% and 32% organic humic acid, a 0.1% fulvic acid fraction and 65% and 59% inorganic and humin fractions respectively. These organic components were shown to be potentially available for biological consumption. In the unmodified hard coal substrate, partitioning was not observed and it did not perform as a functional substrate for any of the bioprocesses investigated. Where carbon dioxide was used as a terminal electron acceptor, methane production ranging from 9 – 26 mg CH4.g substrate-1 was demonstrated from both oxidized coal substrates. Geologically oxidized coal produced 30% more methane than biologically oxidized coal. Methane yields from the geologically oxidized coal in the presence and absence of a co-substrate were 5 – 13-fold higher than previous studies that used hard coal for methanogenesis. Based on these results, and that the development and optimization of the biological oxidation process is currently ongoing, further applications investigated in this study were undertaken using geologically oxidized coal. It was shown using pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry that the methanogenic system was dependent on the presence of an effective co-substrate supporting the breakdown of the complex organic structures within the oxidized hard coal substrate. Also that the accumulation of aromatic intermediate breakdown compounds predominantly including toluene, furfural, styrene and 2-methoxy vinyl phenol appeared to become inhibitory to both methanogenic and sulfidogenic reactions. This was shown to be a more likely cause of reactor failure rather than substrate exhaustion over time. Evidence of a reductive degradation pathway of the complex organic structures within the oxidized hard coal substrates was shown through the production, accumulation and utilization of volatile fatty acids including acetic, formic, propionic, butyric and valeric acids. Comparative analysis of the volatile fatty acids produced in this system showed that geologically oxidized coal produced 20% more of the volatile fatty acids profiled and double the total concentration compared to the biologically oxidized coal. The use of geologically oxidized hard coal as a functional substrate for biological sulfate reduction was demonstrated in the neutralization of a simulated acid mine drainage wastewater in both batch and continuous process operations. Results showed an increase in pH from pH 4.0 to ~ pH 8.0 with sulfide production rates of ~ 86 mgL-1.day-1 in the batch reactions, while the pH increased to pH 9.0 and sulfide production rates of up to 450 mgL-1.day-1 were measured in the continuous process studies using sand and coal up-flow packed bed reactors. Again, the requirement for an effective co-substrate was demonstrated with lactate shown to function as a true co-substrate in this system. However, a low cost alternative to lactate would need to emerge if the process was to function in large-scale commercial environmental treatment applications. In this regard, the aerobic growth and production of Neosartorya fischeri biomass (0.64 g.biomass.g SOC-1) was demonstrated using oxidized hard coal and glutamate as a co-substrate. Both can be produced from wastes generated on coal mines, with the fungal biomass generated in potentially large volumes. Preliminary demonstration of the use of the fungal biomass as a carbon and electron donor source for biological sulfate reduction was shown and thus that this could serve as an effective substrate for anaerobic environmental treatment processes. Based on these findings, an Integrated Coal Bioprocess model was proposed using oxidized hard coal as a substrate for environmental remediation applications on coal mines. In this approach, potential applications included methane recovery from waste coal, use of waste coal in the treatment of acid mine drainage waste waters and the recovery and use of humic acids in the rehabilitation of open cast mining soils. This study provided a first report demonstrating the use of biologically and geologically oxidized hard coals as bioprocess substrates in environmental bioremediation applications. It also provided an indication that follow-up bioengineering studies to investigate scaled-up applications of these findings would be warranted.

M.Tech. (Chemical Engineering) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

The project sought to identify direct links between calculate hillslope solute fluxes and input/output budgets in a forested drainage basin in the United Kingdom. An intensive, short term monitoring and data collection programme was devised in order to quantify the major components for the hillslope hydrological cycle, the seasonal changes in overstorey and understorey biomass, and the chemical composition of ecologically and pedologically derived samples. Gross and net precipitation, infiltration, and soil moisture fluxes, groundwater movement and streamflow were monitored to identify the possible pathways which solutes might follow. Regular sampling of the oak and bracken vegetation, litterfall and litter enabled calculation of biomass accumulation and the rate of uptake and release of plant nutrients. The spatial variability of soil properties was quantified, but subsequent soil sampling permitted identification of seasonal trends in exchangeable action and soil water solute concentrations. All hydrological and ecological samples were analysed for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium and chloride. PH, specific conductance and organic carbon were measured for selected samples. The high infiltration capacity of the soil promoted rapid vertical movement of water towards a perched water table. The presence of soil macropores and the high permeability of the soil precluded the generation of throughflow on the hills-lope. Stream discharge was mainly controlled by groundwater fluxes from the perched water table. Although seasonal trends in the solute concentration of water samples and in the nutrient assimilation of vegetation were identified, isolated events, such as frassfall and storm-period litterfall, were shown to contribute significant quantities of nutrients to the forest floor, The importance of solute movement via macropores, especially phosphorus, was emphasised, with particular reference to plant availability. The relative stability of the ecosystem was reflected in the balance of the input/output budgets of solutes, with, the exception of calcium and magnesium losses which were attributable to weathering of the calcareous bedrock. Bivariate and multivariate statistical analysis showed that no single biogeochemical process on the hillslope could be identified as exerting a dominant controlling influence on stream water chenistry, through isolated events may affect concentrations in the short term.

Minerals, metals and mining are the cornerstone of technological development and play an essential role in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Mining, however, is not a wastefree process, with mine wastes being a source of a host of environmental problems. One of these is acid rock drainage (ARD), which forms through a complex series of acid formation (mainly via sulfide oxidation), neutralisation (primarily by carbonates) and gangue mineral dissolution reactions in waste rock and tailings storage piles. The resulting drainage waters are often acidic, highly saline and may contain elevated levels of deleterious elements. Effective ARD mitigation requires accurate ARD characterisation and prediction strategies. To date, standard guidelines recommend a suite of geochemical static (characterisation) and kinetic (prediction) tests. Characterisation tests such as acid-base accounting (ABA) and net acid generation (NAG) tests provide a quick and relatively inexpensive estimate of the "worst case" scenario for acid formation and neutralisation, while kinetic tests (commonly humidity or column leach tests) aim to predict the longterm weathering potential of waste material. The UCT biokinetic test (not currently industry standard practice) was developed to address the effect of microorganisms on ARD formation and allow for the collection of relative kinetic data on neutralisation and acidification within a shortened time period. None of these tests, however, account for the additional layer of complexity introduced by mineral texture, which describes the interrelationship of mineral grains to one another, their shapes and sizes, with some frequently studied textural parameters including mineral liberation, association, grain size distribution and particle size. Mineralogical and textural analyses are infrequently practiced in the context of ARD assessment due to the difficulty in obtaining statistically sound quantitative textural data, high costs of measurement, and standard ARD assessment protocols recommending (rather than necessitating) these assessments. An ARD assessment approach that includes static, kinetic, mineralogical and textural assessments has nonetheless been suggested by several researchers. This project assessed the dominating textural parameters on the scales of kinetic (humidity cell) test (HCT) feed material (meso-scale) and characterisation (static and UCT batch biokinetic) test (SCT) feed material (micro-scale) using four waste rock samples (A, B, C and D) from a greenstone belt gold deposit as a case study. More specifically, the study aimed to assess the role of mineralogy and texture in the ARD assessment "toolbox" and to investigate the role of coarse material sampling for ARD assessment. Data sets collected included the PSD of the micro- and meso-scale material, sample chemistry data obtained from XRF spectrometry and LECO total sulfur, bulk mineralogy data from QXRD and QEMSCAN, as well as textural and mineralogical data from QEMSCAN for sized and unsized micro- and meso-scale material. ARD-specific data sets included results of geochemical characterisation tests such as ANC and single-addition NAG tests, the UCT batch biokinetic test with and without pH control for samples C and D, as well as prediction test data from water-fed and modified humidity cell tests. The geochemical static tests performed on samples A, B, C and D classified them as PAF, PAF, uncertain and NAF, respectively. Non-pH-controlled UCT batch biokinetic tests remained circumneutral for samples B, C and D over the duration of 90 days, while for sample A the pH became acidic over time. The pH-controlled tests demonstrated a steady depletion of neutralisation potential over the first 30 days. Humidity cell test results demonstrated no acidic leachate formation for waterfed tests over 40 weeks, while modified tests showed a decreasing pH over time as the neutralisation capacity was reduced. The mineralogy was important for the interpretation of test results on both the micro-and meso-scales and was assessed in terms of both discrete minerals and reactivity groupings (Fe-Sulfide, other sulfide, dissolving (carbonate), fast weathering, intermediate weathering, slow weathering, inert and other). For sample A the mineralogy was dominated by the inert (quartz), slow weathering (magnetite, plagioclasealbite) and intermediate weathering (Fe-amphibole) categories, with lesser contributions from the FeSulfide (pyrrhotite), dissolving (calcite) and fast weathering (epidote) groups. The main groups contributing to the sample B mineralogy were the slow weathering (plagioclase-albite, magnetite, Kfeldspar), inert (quartz) and intermediate weathering (Fe-mica, chlorite) groups, followed by Fe-Sulfide (pyrite), dissolving (calcite) and fast weathering (epidote) mineral groups. Sample C mineralogy comprised predominantly inert (quartz, titanite), Fe-Sulfide (pyrrhotite), dissolving (calcite) and intermediate weathering (Fe-mica, chlorite) minerals, with lesser contributions from slow weathering (K-feldspar) and fast weathering (epidote) minerals. Sample D comprised intermediate weathering (Feamphibole, chlorite, Fe-mica) and slow weathering minerals, with lesser contributions from slow weathering (magnetite), dissolving (calcite) and Fe-Sulfide (pyrrhotite) minerals. Textural parameters (liberation and association, grain size distribution and liberation spectrum) were evaluated for the FeSulfide and dissolving minerals. On the micro-scale, a large portion of the Fe-Sulfide and dissolving minerals in the samples was found in the liberated category (50%) of the texturally significant size fractions (>1mm), which comprised predominantly locked Fe-Sulfide and dissolving minerals. Evidence of a bimodal distribution was, however, found for sample C via the liberation spectrum and grain size distribution (early liberation size of 8mm), which accounted for the larger degree of liberation observed in the >1mm size fractions, and a larger degree of liberation for the sample overall. The association of Fe-Sulfide and dissolving minerals for all samples was found to be primarily to inert, intermediate weathering and slow weathering minerals, with a larger degree of association of Fe-Sulfide to dissolving minerals observed in sample C. On the micro-scale the mineralogy helped inform the placement of the samples on the geochemical classification plot based on the Fe-Sulfide, dissolving and intermediate weathering mineral contents. For the non-pH-controlled UCT batch biokinetic test, the presence and abundance of calcite was thought to dictate the PAF/NAF nature of the test, as even relatively low amounts of calcite rendered the pH circumneutral for the duration of the test (sample B). For pH-controlled tests, however, the calcite was depleted over time, which led to a favourable acidic environment for the acidophilic bacteria used in the batch biokinetic test. For both the geochemical characterisation and the pH-controlled UCT batch biokinetic tests there was evidence to suggest the contribution of intermediate weathering (Feamphibole, Fe-mica, chlorite) and slow weathering (magnetite) minerals to the neutralisation potential in the sample. On the meso-scale the effects of mineralogy were most prominent for the modified humidity cell tests, which showed some pH fluctuations and a steady depletion of the primary neutralisation potential. The pH fluctuation after the depletion of the dissolving minerals was attributed to the dissolution of intermediate weathering minerals over the 40 weeks of the tests. These effects were not observed during the 40 weeks of the water-fed experiments. Given sufficient time for the latter test, however, it would be expected that upon the onset of acidification, similar effects of the mineralogy on the leachate quality would be observed as in the modified tests. Knowledge of the Fe-sulfide and dissolving mineral texture yielded several insights. on the micro-scale, the liberation and grain size distribution data provided an indication that a sample-customised grinding size should be established to ensure adequate "worst case" scenario determination via characterisation tests, as material with fine Fe-Sulfide or dissolving mineral grains may not be fully liberated at the recommended 75µm top size. On the meso-scale, the texture yielded insight into the circumneutral behaviour of the water-fed HCT, as most of the acid-forming minerals were contained in size fractions where the liberation was either limited or negligible, with predominant association to slow weathering, intermediate weathering and inert minerals. These findings highlighted the importance of considering mineralogy, texture and the PSD of the material for HCT result interpretation. When considering texture as a parameter for ARD assessment, the potential for sampling and mineralogical errors arose due to the coarse material size (specifically on the meso-scale) and the limitations on the number of particles that could be assessed. Quantitative mineralogy and texture data allowed for the quantitative assessment of the sampling and mineralogical errors, which were investigated through Pierre Gy's fundamental sampling error (FSE) equation, the binomial distribution approximation and the plotting of confidence intervals over the Fe-Sulfide liberation data. The results showed that although tools such as Gy's "safety line" provide a useful quick means of sampling error assessment, this approach may yield excessively large sample mass requirements for coarse material. Calculating the sampling error from the textural and mineralogical data provided a useful tool to estimate sample representativeness. Additionally, the estimation of sampling errors may help in the planning of an appropriate sampling approach, which may ultimately provide a means to relate data sets to one another across scales based on how representative samples are of one another, and therefore of the parent lot. The current study showed how mineralogy and texture are not simply "tools" in the ARD assessment "toolbox", but rather a key means for interpreting characterisation and prediction test data. Additionally, the quantitative assessment of mineralogy and texture provided the opportunity to assess the materialspecific sampling error, which, in turn, may allow for the correlation of data sets across various scales and for the planning of appropriate sampling strategies. Recommendations for future work include: the quantitative assessment of the ARDI for meso-scale material; the assessment of detailed characterisation and prediction test leachate chemistry; trace element assessment and deportment throughout UCT batch biokinetic and humidity cell testing; mineralogical and textural assessment on characterisation and prediction test residues during and after tests; an in-depth analysis of the minimal/optimal sample block/sub-sample mass required for minimal error; the assessment of samples using X-ray microcomputed tomography to assess and decrease the effects of stereological bias prevalent in 2D measurements; and the application of a similar texture and mineralogy assessment to additional waste types (such as coal wastes, or waste material containing non-Fe-bearing sulfides).